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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. chip — for betting
  3. mate — to breed
  4. present — there
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wax — to grow
  7. root — of a plant
  8. mate — a friend
  9. chip — to eat
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. mate — a partner
  12. present — a gift
  13. root — the cause
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — all right
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. present — the time now
  18. last — to go on
  19. root — of a word
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. last — finally
  22. shower — rain
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. shower — a meteor shower

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com